Presidential Protection of Children ....

Christian Catholicism
December 15, 2012

http://christiancatholicism.com/2012/12/15/presidential-protection-of-children-from-violence-after-newton-conn-school-massacre-by-jerry-slevin-retired-nyc-lawyer/

Who is not moved by the appearance of President Obama in tears before a worldwide TV audience as he tried to address the latest horror of a violent and senseless attack on defenseless children at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school? The world’s most powerful man, and a devoted father of two young daughters, almost powerless, it appears, to protect children from recurring violence. We are all moved to tears over this incomprehensible outrage.

The demands for tighter gun controls are already being raised, as they should be. While Connecticut already has some tight gun restrictions, other states in the USA don’t. So plugging a few holes in a leaking national gun bucket will unlikely deter much gun distribution. And given the unpredictable evil latent in some, one wonders almost despairingly whether this periodic horror of school massacres can be curtailed.

Of course it can be curtailed! It may be impossible to protect children always from violence, but other modern nations have adopted sensible national gun restrictions that have broadly protected children, certainly when compared to the shameful record in the USA. President Obama faces strong opposition to sensible gun restrictions from a gun lobby in Congress, but he must keep pressing to end this gun lunacy. And all in the US must support every effort to strike the right balance between the safety of innocents, especially children, and the rights of responsible gun owners

Many innocent children in the USA sadly also face another form of violence, which often alters their lives negatively and permanently, namely sexual violence. President Obama can and should act decisively here now. He has recently been asked in a White House petition, by a brave woman who lost her brother to sexual abuse, to set up a special national commission to investigate and identify responses to the often hidden epidemic of sexual assaults on children in organizational settings, such as churches, schools and youth groups.

CLICK ON here to read the brief White House petition: http://wh.gov/5aAQ

The number of child victims of sexual assaults far exceeds the number of child victims of gun assaults. The sexual assaults occur both in homes and in organizational settings, like churches, schools and youth groups. The home assaults are usually addressed effectively by state criminal law proceedings. The organizational assaults, often hidden and protected by leaders of powerful groups like some bishops and national officers, are not being addressed effectively generally by states.

On a steadily increasing and disturbing scale, USA media are reporting about outrageous sexual assaults in organizational settings, including at Penn State, in the Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Kansas City Catholic dioceses, in Mormon affiliated Boy Scout groups, and in New York City rabbinical congregations and non-denominational private prep schools.

A potential Oscar contending new HBO documentary, “Mea Maxima Culpa”, has effectively captured the horrendous case of a lone Milwaukee Catholic priest who allegedly abused over 200 deaf boys, while his hierarchical superiors and local law enforcement officials ineffectively and quietly mishandled victims’ complaints over several decades! The documentary is showing in select theaters now and will air on HBO in several weeks. It is worth seeing several times.

The reported pattern is sadly too repetitive. Those in the organizations’ hierarchy too often cover-up the sexual assaults. The predators often then continue to sexually assault more innocent children. Predators are often quietly moved to other venues, often in other states. Local law enforcement officials often look the other way. Local laws have clearly proved inadequate to curtailing these violent crimes against innocent children.

This organizational sexual assault epidemic has gone on steadily over more than a quarter century, notwithstanding occasional media exposes. In February, experts at a Vatican conference estimated over 100,000 U.S. children so far have been victims of sexual assaults by Catholic priests or other church personnel. Few of the personnel are prosecuted and some continue to abuse at new locations. Catholic bishops are basically unaccountable. The only Catholic bishop, Robert Finn of Kansas City, convicted of a child endangerment related crime still remains an active bishop months after his conviction.

Faced with a similar epidemic of sexual assaults on children in Australia, Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is establishing a national commission to investigate sexual violence against children in organizational settings, such as churches, schools and youth groups. The Catholic Church hierarchy there, including Cardinal Pell, a frequently mentioned prospect to be the next pope, have endorsed the commission, as have almost 90 % of Australians, including Catholics, in a recent poll. The mere announcement of the commission has already had positive impact, including encouraging more suffering victims of organizational sexual abuse to tell their story. A commission in the USA is clearly needed at least as much as it has been in Australia.

President Obama, after the Penn State scandal broke, reportedly said in effect that the protection of children must come before institutions and that one must step up to defend innocent children. Please encourage President Obama to step up now to protect innocent children from organizational sexual violence.

PLEASE SIGN the above online petition now and encourage others also to sign it.

This is little to ask to try to help save some children from the pain of sexual abuse and to help abuse survivors secure justice. Many others have already signed it, including key advocates for children and abuse survivors, Father Thomas Doyle, O.P., and Sister Maureen Paul Turlish, and several Catholic theologians.

Many support and advocacy groups, including SNAP, VOTF, ARCC, CTA, CORPUS, DIGNITY, the Children’s Defense Fund, the Child Welfare League and the American Bar Association, have also been asked to support this petition in the near term.

Please don’t wait. Sign today and help protect innocent children from at least some violent risks.